Expressions of gratefulness: It’s not only the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do!

By Karen Kegg My husband and I renewed our wedding vows this summer with family and a few friends attending. For a gift, my sister-in-law gave us a decorative gratefulness jar to remind us how grateful we should be for each other and our family. It’s a decorative jar that you place notes of gratefulness in when you aren’t feeling encouraged about life. In other words, it reminds you to stop and acknowledge what you

In the face of emergency…

By Marion Lee, CFRE Most of us have been here before. Throughout our careers, earthquakes, hurricanes, fire and terrorism have dealt our communities and our country blows that resonate with us long after the actual disaster. No one nonprofit is truly exempt from these disasters, and the closer they are to the epicenter of the tragic event, the greater the impact on their mission. Messages have come in from across the state that focus on

Helping organizations learn to fly

By Alexis De Sela “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” — Friedrich Nietzsche We at Lee+ Associates realize that meeting each organization where it is, whether it’s crawling, standing, walking, running, or flying, is essential. We believe in a holistic approach to our work that includes partnering with organizations of all sizes—from micro to large

Strategic Planning: Which way I ought to go from here

By Shannon Kingman “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” said the Cat. Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat of Alice in Wonderland said it best – knowing how to progress as an organization begins with determining precisely where it is you want to go. The strategic direction of any organization begins first with a vision. Consider

The revolving door: Turnover in the Development profession

By Alexis De Sela Your Development Director just handed you her resignation. It takes you completely off-guard. You thought this was “the one” who would stay because she was 14 months into her tenure. You had no idea she was looking at other opportunities or that she was unhappy in any way, and this will be the third Director of Development to leave in the past five years. This revolving door potentially costs the organization

Summer means…

“Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” –Henry James For most nonprofit staff members, summer typically brings a slight slow-down in program activity, although for some it can be the busiest time of the year particularly if you’re running a summer camp or enrichment program. But for those who do enjoy this slower time of year, the Lee+ Associates team recommends these five tips to

Strengthening your program’s impact comes from evaluation

By Covita Moroney In working with our clients, particularly in the context of organizational assessments, Lee+ Associates team members consistently encounter nonprofit leaders who fully embrace the importance of demonstrating their program’s impact. My work with a current client (and past experiences as a nonprofit manager) quickly surfaced this core fact: most nonprofit staffs are completely occupied with the planning and delivery of their programs, and have little time to design and implement data systems

Getting to know the Lee+ Associates team

The Lee+ Associates team recently completed a fun (but surprisingly challenging) poll of some of our favorite things. The resulting responses will give you a snapshot of each of us, including a quirk or two. We hope you will enjoy getting to know us a bit better! Priscilla Cortez, Associate • What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience? While working at UT Austin, a student in the College of Natural Sciences passed away -too young – from brain cancer. I worked

Getting to know the Lee+ Associates team

The Lee+ Associates team recently completed a fun (but surprisingly challenging) poll of some of our favorite things. The resulting responses will give you a snapshot of each of us, including a quirk or two. We hope you will enjoy getting to know us a bit better! Priscilla Cortez, Associate • What’s your most memorable fundraising related experience? While working at UT Austin, a student in the College of Natural Sciences passed away -too young – from brain

Strengthening your program’s impact comes from evaluation

By Covita Moroney In working with our clients, particularly in the context of organizational assessments, Lee+ Associates team members consistently encounter nonprofit leaders who fully embrace the importance of demonstrating their program’s impact. My work with a current client (and past experiences as a nonprofit manager) quickly surfaced this core fact: most nonprofit staffs are completely occupied with the planning and delivery of their programs, and have little time to design and implement data systems